Sonic 3D Blast

Copyright: KBkids.com

Sonics and his friends have been popular characters for many years on the Sega Genesis game system. Sonic is as well known to Sega fans as Mario is to Nintendo fans. Sonic and his friends are now on CD-ROM for those who want to see Sonic on their home PC.

Sonic 3D Blast is not one of the very best arcade style games, but it is a good solid game which elementary and jr. high aged children will enjoy. This is a good game for those who want a basically non-violent arcade game, and who are not addicted to strategy or adventure based games. Those who want a solid story line will tire of all the running around in this game.

The story line here is very basic. Sonic and his friends have headed to Flicky Island in order to uncover the mystery of the Flicky Birds and the Chaos Emeralds. Unfortunately, Dr. Robotnik has already arrived and booby-trapped the island. He has captured all of the Flicky Birds (the islands' inhabitants) and hidden them within robots who are bent upon destroying Sonic. Sonic fans will realize the redundancy of this plot. The object is to collect as many rings as possible for protection, and release the Flicky Birds in order to unlock the mystery of the island. Other than this underlying story, there is a lot of running around, jumping on things, bouncing, and generally zipping from place to place. As the game progresses, Sonic must master a few more skills, but the zigging and zagging continue throughout.

This program works well with either keyboard controls, or a joystick. Some players opted for the keyboard, while other prefered the joystick. This is a non-violent game, unless you count the 'boinging' of enemies and the laser shots which try to make Sonic drop items. A counter at the bottom of your screen keeps track of the lives Sonic has left, and a seperate counter lets you know how many more Flicky Birds must be found. The game is divided into six worlds, with three acts each. Each of these acts contains sub-acts. Most non-arcade game purists would simply call these 'levels,' but they are technically 'acts' here. Each becomes progressively difficult, but this remains a hand-eye coordination game and not one of thinking skills or strategy.

Bottom Line: A solid arcade game, but not one for children who are hooked on strategy and a solid story line. This is one for those who want non-violent arcade action without a lot of problem solving.

Ratings: (based on KBkids.com's 4 star rating system)

Overall: 3

BrainGain: 1

FunFactor: 3

EasePlease: 3

Buy Sonic 3D Blast at Amazon!

This program is very difficult to find. If still out of stock on Amazon, you can download a demo version at http://www.softseek.com/Games/Arcade_and_Action/3_D_Action_and_Arcade/Review_14369_index.html

Sega no longer lists this program, so get it while you can!